Montgomery – By a unanimous and bipartisan vote of 102 – 0, the Alabama House on Thursday gave its approval to the Alabama Commercial Aviation Business Improvement Act , a measure sponsored in the House by State Rep. Bill Poole (R – Tuscaloosa) and projected to create thousands of aerospace manufacturing jobs across the state once it is enacted.

The bill is narrowly written to provide a measure of civil liability protections to Airbus and its Alabama based suppliers. Airbus is already expected to create roughly 1,000 jobs with its recently announced manufacturing facility in Mobile and company officials have been quoted in recent media reports heralding this new manufacturing facility as the future “epicenter of commercial activity” for Airbus’ North American operations. Airbus and it suppliers will bring thousands more employment opportunities to towns and cities throughout Alabama.

“Using this legislation and other tools like it, Alabama’s aerospace industry has the opportunity to become the central hub for the rapidly expanding aerospace industry in the Southeastern United States, just as our auto manufacturing sector did during the 1990s,” Poole said. “At the end of the day, this bill is designed to bring good-paying, long-lasting jobs and opportunities to thousands of Alabamians, and I encourage the Senate to act on it quickly.”

“Without this legislation, Airbus suppliers could very easily decide to locate in nearby Florida or Mississippi – states that have already implemented bills similar to the one being introduced in Alabama,” Governor Bentley said when the legislation was announced in February. “We have worked hard to create a positive business climate here in Alabama, and this legislation is needed to help us build on our progress and attract even more jobs.”

The Alabama Department of Commerce estimates that the Airbus plant will have a $409 million annual impact on the state’s economy, and, aside from the facility itself, roughly 3,700 workers are expected to be employed by suppliers located across the state